Oceans
by umjily
Summary: Who do you chose? The one who was chosen for you by some weird passed down tribe gene? Or the one that captivated your soul, body, and mind? Either way, they both sent sparks running through your body, they both sent butterflies soaring through your stomach, heart and lungs. How do you chose which one to return their love too? Forever.
1. Chapter 1

"You can't keep pushing me away Paul!" Graciella stormed after Paul. Her throat was on fire from the screaming match she was having with him. She was tired of all the yelling, but whenever a fight between her and Paul broke out, there was no way in hell that it would be a quiet one.

"Oh yeah?" Paul abruptly turned around, causing Graciella to bump into his chest. "Just watch me," he spit out through clenched teeth. His eyes held so much anger, so much disdain as they scorched and burned down on Graciella.

Her heart crumbled at his words, he turned around sharply before ripping the door open and slamming it shut behind him, the house shook from the excessive force used. She watched him run off into the woods through the small living room window.

Her legs gave out and she dramatically collapsed on the hard floor. Tears pricked at her eyes, she desperately tried to hold them back. It was useless. They flowed down rapidly at her poor attempt to block out the hateful looks and harsh words Paul had thrown her way.

It was always like this now. Brutal, verbal fights with Paul every time he came home.

Paul was ever hardly home anymore, and when he was, the result was a screaming match between Graciella and Paul. All Graciella did was worry for him, even if he was the older sibling. She wanted to know what was up with him, why the sudden change?

First, Paul had disappeared for almost two weeks, he came home a foot taller, with bulging muscles and an even worse temper than before. Second, he isolated himself and became hostile towards his sister. Snarling nasty things to her and shoving her out of his life. Third, no matter how hard Graciella had tried to come up with some sort of explanation to his odd behavior, she came up empty handed. Graciella was confused, she was in the dark. She was desperate to help. But Paul would either ignore or curse at her to mind her own fucking business every time she tried to get close.

She missed the old days.

The days in which Paul and her were okay. The days where he would confide in her and she would confide in him. The days where they had each other. Now, Paul had his new friends. Paul had Sam Uley and the rest of the _'Protectors'._

Paul didn't need her anymore, not like she needed him.

Graciella missed Paul, she missed her big brother.

She attempted to run her fingers through her hair in frustration, but it was a hopeless act. Her fingers soon got caught in her wild, curly locks. She let out a deep sigh, she really despised her hair at times.

Forcing herself off the floor, she wiped her tears away. _Damn_ , she thought to herself, _I really need to stop falling to the floor every time he storms out._

And she was right, this kind of thing had been happening for weeks now. It was about time she got over it, but Graciella knew it couldn't be helped. It was so draining to fight with him, and the pain of his ruthless words never eased up. His cruel comments stung immensely, the cold glare in his eyes broke her heart.

Where was the old Paul?

The Paul who swore to never hurt her and to always protect her, where had that Paul gone?

She trudged upstairs, needing to get out of the house. It was way too depressing and lonely there, neither Paul nor her father were ever home.

Her father, Bryan, was both a workaholic and an alcoholic, his line of work a helpful factor to his alcohol problem. He worked at a nearby casino, bartending. Then once his shift ended at five o'clock, the roles would switch up and he would be the one drinks were being served to.

He'd come home around one in the morning, throwing himself onto the couch and knocking out. The next morning, he'd be up at nine. He'd get in the shower and then head off to work. That was his daily routine. Never did he speak a word to Graciella. She couldn't remember the last time they had a proper conversation.

Graciella knew it could be worse, her father could be violent and abusive when intoxicated, but thankfully he wasn't. It still pained her, he was neglecting not only her but Paul as well.

Her father hadn't always been that way. It all began when her mother left.

Six years ago, her parents had gotten a divorce, and her father still wasn't over it. Graciella couldn't blame him. After all, her mother cheated and left him for a man she had only known three weeks prior.

She had abandoned her husband, her children. She had abandoned her family.

Graciella hated her for it. Cursing and blaming her mother. It wasn't fair that everything fell apart because of her mother's selfish actions. Eventually, Graciella got over it.

She knew her mother wasn't happy. She had fallen out of love with her husband, and it showed in her actions. It wasn't as surprising as it should have been. At the age of ten, Graciella became aware of the regret in her mother's eyes. She could see the regret towards the sacrifices she had made to be with her father.

Her mother, Jacquelyn, was from Mexico. She was beautiful, with white skin, dark hair and stunning hazel eyes. Traits that aren't as uncommon in Mexico as you would think they are. Her mother had told Graciella that people don't always look the way they are stereotyped to look. Lots of Latinos/Latinas had pale skin, colored eyes, and natural blond hair.

Her mother was a foreign exchange student at Washington State University, where she had met Riya. Riya was from La Push, Washington. Riya had taken Jacquelyn down to the reservation during their winter break, so that she wouldn't have to spend her holidays alone in their room. And so, that's when Bryan met Jacquelyn. They hit it off instantly, it was almost a love at first sight kind of thing. Jacquelyn left school and married Bryan, giving up her education and moving permanently to the US. Two sacrifices she didn't mind at the time, but over the years she grew to regret.

So, ten years ago, when she meets Jorge at a gas station and he offers her a chance to start over, she took it. Never looking back and never saying goodbye. Leaving her family in the dust while she ran off into the sunset with that asswipe.

Jacquelyn's hurtful actions left them all wounded. Her feeling remorse about her life decisions shouldn't have resulted in the way things turned out in the end. But hey, that's life for you.

Graciella was a replica of her mother. She had her skin tone, her dark, curly locks. It was always a surprise to people that Paul and her were siblings, they looked so different, the only thing they had in common was their light brown eyes.

Graciella feared her resemble to her mother made it harder for her dad to get over my her, there were times where he would just stare at her for a long time. Pain evident in his eyes, his lips pursed, but he never said a word to her.

Healing takes time, and the amount of time that it takes to heal is different for every human being. It took Paul and Graciella a long time to get over the heartache their mother caused but they had each other to rely on.

All Graciella wanted was for her father to be happy and move on someday, and she hoped that day was soon. Because her father's lifestyle was unhealthy and depressing. She couldn't bare to watch it any longer. Besides, she missed him. She missed her father terribly, she needed him. Graciella just wanted her father back.

Paul did too.

That was a theory of hers; Paul's strange behavior was an act. Maybe Paul was doing it on purpose, in hopes of gaining their father's attention and concern, trying to snap him out of his daze and get a reaction. All Graciella knew was that Paul had been acting weird for almost three months now and her dad still hadn't said anything to him.

Walking into her room, Graciella grabbed her phone, pulling up her messages and opening the group chat labeled.. **The PowerPuff Girls** _...?_ She let out a small laugh, those goofballs had changed the chat's name, again. She typed...

Who changed the group chat name? – Buttercup

And why the hell am I buttercup? -_- – Buttercup

Because, you got a sour pussy just like her sour ass personality ;) – Bubbles

Really bitch? really? – Buttercup

You got a problem buttercup? catch me outside, how bout dat - bubbles

I made it, aren't I an absolute genius? ;D – Blossom

Why powerpuff girls thoo? - Buttercup

Because we are three bad as fuck bitches, who are powerful, strong, beautiful, glamorous, and fabulous! And we don't need no man in our lives! Need I say more? – Blossom

Michael, honey, your gay is showing – Buttercup

And I'm owning it girly! – Blossom

WERRRRRK IT GURRRL WERRRRRRK IT! – Bubbles

I hate you two so much sometimes – Buttercup

See! This is why your Buttercup! Always so uptight and bitchy! You need some dick in yo life! – Bubbles

JoEL I WILL SMACK THE GAY OUT OF YOU – Buttercup

ohhh, I like it rough baby ;O – Bubbles

puLL MY HAIR AND MAKE ME CALL U DADDY WHILE YOU'RE AT IT – Bubbles

FUCK YOU – Buttercup

When and where ? – Bubbles

Can I join? I've always wanted to have a threesome... – Blossom

oH MY GOD – Buttercup

Just meet me at the beach in 20 you sex crazed freaks – Buttercup

Sex on the beach ? I like it – Bubbles

Kinky (; – Blossom

That's it. I'm murdering the both of you. – Buttercup

Michael and Joel, Graciella's two idiotic, inappropriate, gay best friends. They were amazing and she loved them, she really did. She just couldn't stand them sometimes, not in a bad way though, more like in a they acted so stupid sometimes that she just didn't know how to deal with them kind of way. They both were so dirty minded and sassy, Graciella loved that about them.

Graciella was no saint either, she also had a dirty mind and raging teen hormones, but what teen didn't? Joel and Michael took things to the next level though, and while it was hilarious at times, there would also be moments in which Graciella turned bright red with embarrassment. Covering her face with her small hands while Joel and Michael laughed their asses off.

Graciella pulled a black hoodie over her head. It matched perfectly with her black, ripped jeans and her black vans. Graciella loved black clothing, she wore it all the time. Michael and Joel made fun of her, calling her an emo chicken nugget. She liked rock music, she listened to all kinds of bands, but Graciella didn't consider herself as one of those punk, emo kids, or whatever. She just happened to like dressing in all black, all the time. There was nothing to it, really.

Grabbing her house keys and phone, she shoved them into the big pocket of her hoodie. She didn't bother leaving a note saying she was going out. No one would read it anyways, she was sure she'd be back before both her father and Paul.

The beach wasn't far from her house, only a fifteen minute walk. Graciella enjoyed walking. It gave her time to think properly, she could breath better, think clearer.

She thought about the future. School was starting in two days, she would be a sophomore this year, Paul a junior. She worried about her brother's education.

Around the time he started to act differently was towards the end of the last school year. His grades were horrible, Graciella didn't know how he managed to pass honestly. He had F's in all his classes. She really hoped he would get his shit together and try harder this year. If he didn't start cleaning up his act now, then she didn't even want to imagine how his senior year will go for him. She wanted Paul to be successful and go to a nice college, or if he doesn't want to go to college that's fine too! As long as he didn't drop out and finished high school then she would be happy.

She worried too much about Paul, but she couldn't help it. It was in her nature to worry about those she cared deeply for.

Graciella's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of waves crashing against the rocky shore, she had arrived at the beach.

La Push beach was beautiful. The dark waters were in a frenzy today, thanks to the rapid wind that was whipping them forward. They pushed and tumbled against one another, fighting their way towards the shoreline. It wasn't a good day for swimming or surfing, hell no. You'd be swallowed alive by the waves if you tried that, but it was a good day to sit on the sand and gaze out into the sea. To let your mind wander and to let the feeling of reality drift away.

Graciella almost regretted inviting Michael and Joel to come out here with her, the ocean brought this sense of sentimentality to her. She knew it wasn't healthy to make your self sad, but she couldn't control what she felt when she looked at the ocean. It was both blissful yet saddening to her. she couldn't explain why, it just was.

The ocean to her was like one of those songs, the ones that have an up tune beat but deep lyrics that hit you in your feels. One of those songs that brought both happiness but sadness to the listener. The song that replayed good memories but depressing memories all together.

"Hey Grace," Michael and Joel sat down, one on each of side of her. "Are you feeling that weird happy, sad vibe you always feel when you look at the ocean?"

"You know me so well," Graciella let out a small chuckle.

Michael wrapped an arm over her shoulders, "I'm telling you Graciella, you need some dick in your life. You need some soon."

"How does dick have to do with anything of this?" she shoved his arm off.

Michael shrugged, Joel was the one to speak. "Dick is life." Joel sighed, "Dick is everything!" he shouted.

"Maybe to you, but not to me," Graciella shook her head at him.

Joel easily brushed her off, "That's cus you haven't had any yet, love."

It was true, she was still a virgin, with no sexual experience either. Hell, Grace hadn't even had her first kiss yet. It didn't bother her, she didn't care about stuff like that. Well okay, she did care, a little. Either way, Grace was waiting for the right guy. She wasn't like Michael and Joel, constantly hooking up.

Yes, her best friends were a bunch of hoes, but hey, she wasn't judging them.

It's not like they fucked anything with a pair of legs, no. They were careful of who they were intimate with, they just weren't on the whole relationship idea yet. They claimed they didn't want to be tied down to someone yet. Graciella supported them, because why be in a relationship if you're just gonna be in it for the sex? Why be in a relationship if you're not gonna be happy? Or faithful? Might as well not be in one and hook up every once in a while.

"Whatever," she rolled my eyes. "Miel, I'm worried about Paul." Miel was her ship name for Michael and Joel. They've never been like that with each other but Graciella still shipped them. Any girl would ship her two best friends together if they saw the way Michael and Joel looked each other sometimes. It was so cute to Graciella because they denied any chemistry between them, but she saw it. Also, miel meant honey in Spanish, and that was just too cute as well!

A tint of pink was apparent on both of their cheeks at the mention of 'miel', they would never admit it, of course, but she knew they secretly liked it when she called them that.

"What did Paulie do this time?" Michael asked, avoiding eye contact with Joel.

Graciella sighed, "We got into another fight today." she admitted. "he said some messed up shit to me. I don't know when this constant battle between us will end. I try to be his friend but he tells me to go fuck myself. He hurts me so much..." Graciella trailed off.

"He's a fucking asshole that I will gladly beat up for you." Joel snarled, his fingers were drawing doodles on the sand. "He's going through one of those shitty teenage phases. Where you treat the ones who matter like shit and you pick your new, piece of shit friends over them."

She didn't say anything, keeping her gaze on the water. "Joel's right, Gracie. Paul is being a dumbass. It'll pass over time."

"What if it doesn't Mikey? What if this Paul is here forever?"

"Then, we'll kidnap you and hide you in our closets." Michael wrapped his arm over her shoulder again, this time Graciella didn't shove it off. "Right Joel?"

"Right Mikey," Joel also wrapped his arm around her, his laying on top of Michael's, "Then when you're ready, you can come out of the closet!"

"I'm not gay!" she cried out, laughing, "You buttholes! I'm being serious right now!"

"Okay, okay. You can hide under my bed then." Michael suggested.

"Hey, then you can be friends with the monster that's under your bed!" Joel sang, they both sprang into song, singing awful and very loud.

"Ew, shut up! My ears are gonna bled! Don't do Riri like that!" covering her ears with her palms, Graciella tried to block out their horrendous singing.

They both laughed, "Your singing voice sounds like a dying dinosaur, so don't say shit to us!"

"Whatever you nuggets."

Joel's laughter died down, a serious expression on his face. "We're no Batman or Ironman. We don't have amazing superpowers that can save you. But we do have love, support, and a friendship to offer you. You know you can count on us, for anything."

"We can't always be there to protect you from you're shitbag of a brother. But we'll be there as often as we can, ready to defend and whoop his ass for you. We promise." Michael added.

Her heart fluttered at their words, tears were forming again, but this time they were tears of gratitude and love, Graciella felt beyond lucky to have Michael and Joel. "I love you guys." she wrapped her arms around them and pulled them in for a very awkward positioned hug.

 **Hello! I don't know if anyone is reading this but if you are then wassup? Lol**

 **well I had already uploaded chapter one but I made some changes and I liked this outcome much better than the first. So uh, yeah please don't hesitate to review and stuff. Constructive criticism is accepted just don't be too much of an asshole. (: have a lovely day!**


	2. Chapter 2

Graciella took a deep breath, her hands were shaking slightly and she could feel nerves growing in the pit of her stomach. It was simple, all she had to do was to walk up to the bulletin board, look at the paper that was held up by a push pin and search for her name! That's it! Easy as pie.

But Graciella was freaking out. Not only was today the first day of school, but today was also the day Coach Park posted the sheet that listed who had made it on the soccer team this year. Over the summer, Graciella had tried out for the team. Joel and Michael convinced her into doing it, saying it'll be a good opportunity for her to make new friends, and to stay in shape, but most importantly, it was a good excuse to stay out and away from the house that made her so depressed.

Graciella had argued with them, stating that the house wasn't making her depressed. It was the lack of positive interactions with the people who lived in it that was making her depressed. Nevertheless, soccer was the only sport Graciella liked so she went with it.

She made a lot of new friends over the summer, and the Coach was not only attractive, but he was sweet and genuine. Her new friends and Mr. Park had pushed her to work hard and to improve on her skill, she wanted to be on the team so badly. She had been a nervous wreck at tryouts, but she did her best, and that was all the mattered. But was her best enough to cut it onto the team?

Letting out a big sigh, she stepped forward, approaching the wall. It was childish but she secretly crossed her fingers for good luck. The paper was a little high, and Graciella being on the shorter side had to get on her tippy toes to see. She scanned the list, (which was not in alphabetical order as she had expected it to be) mentally cheering and applauding for the girls that had made the team. Reading the names, Jennie Lee and Rose Young, two girls that she had actually became really good friends with, she smiled and made a mental note to go congratulate them in person.

Graciella's heart began to plummet as her eyes scanned down the list. She had yet to see her name and the feeling of disappointment bubbling inside her was growing. Her finger ran down the piece of paper, her desperate eyes searching for her name, she was nearing the bottom.

Biting her lip, she was preparing herself to turn around and walk away when she reached the last name on the list, Graciella Lahote.

The feeling of disappointment vanished, excitement taking it's place. Mentally cheering for herself, she danced a small victory dance. She had made the team! This was amazing! She had to tell Michael and Joel!

Graciella hurriedly walked down the hall, speed walking towards her locker, a large smile dancing at her lips. Her first class of the day was Chemistry Honors with Ms. Gray. Luckily for her, she had both Joel and Michael in that class. In a rush, Graciella approached locker 110. It was a different one from last year, so it took her a while to find it.

Upon reaching her new locker, Graciella pulled out her schedule, the top left corner contained her locker combination. She quickly dialed the code, opening the small, rectangular space. She began to quickly, but neatly, put her things away. Organizing her locker and her things to her liking. Since it was the first day, she didn't have to do much. She grabbed some notebooks and made sure her backpack had extra pencils, because knowing how forgetful Joel was, he would be one of those students who forgets to bring a pencil on the first day of school. She thought for a second, before grabbing an extra notebook for Joel, because he probably didn't remember to bring that as well. Joel was truly a special specimen.

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Graciella shut her locker. She spun around, ready to head to room 909 when she was met by a big, broad chest. She took a small step back and looked up at the tall figure leaning over her. Paul was standing in front of her, glaring down at her, and his eyes were anything but friendly. "Whoa, where's the fire little sis?" Paul smirked down at his sister.

Graciella narrowed her eyes at him, "Paul, can you move? Some of us don't want to be late for class."

Paul let out a bitter chuckle, "There's still ten minutes before the bell rings, Graciella." he crossed his arms over his chest. "Were you really in a rush to get to class? Or was there a boy you were running off to see?" he frowned at his own accusation.

One thing that Graciella hated about Paul, besides the whole new secretive and odd behavior he had recently adapted, was that he was crazy protective. She hadn't mind it back then, she actually thought it was cute. She thought she was lucky to have an older brother to protect and care for her, but everything was different now.

It bothered Graciella now. It bothered her now because how dare he try and protect her when he's not even around anymore? How can he want to keep her from boys who could hurt her when he's the one whose hurting her the most? By pushing her away and leaving her to fend for herself while he runs off with Sam Uley and his gang. Paul didn't qualify for the big, protective brother anymore, he lost that slot when he became an ass.

Graciella and her brother weren't on good terms, they never were these days. Still angry and hurt by his past actions, Graciella turned her nose up in a snobby way. "So what if I was? That's my business, not yours, so mind your own damn business." It felt good to be able to repeat the words Paul often told her back to him.

Paul's jaw tensed, his body went rigid, before it began to shake slightly, signs that he was getting mad. He took a step closer, blocking her way of any escape. "Don't go around acting like such a slut now. I know you look like mom but that doesn't mean you have to go follow in her footsteps."

"What the fuck Paul!?" Graciella couldn't believe he had just said that to her. Shock, anger, and hurt filled her petite body.

Paul simply shrugged, looking off to his side. "I'm just speaking the truth, aren't I?" he looked back at his sister, "I've seen you with those two boys." Paul put on a pondering face, "What's their names again?..." he snapped his fingers in remembrance, "Ah, it's Joel and Michael, right? You spend an awful lot of time with them... you fucking them both?" Joel and Michael, Paul had never formally met them, so of course he wasn't aware of their sexuality.

Graciella had never wanted to slap someone as much as she wanted to slap Paul. How dare he disrespect her friends like that? How dare he so causally compare her to their mother. Paul knew how much of a pain that topic brought to her. Graciella felt betrayed, she knew Paul despised her now. But she had never imagined he would stoop so low to actually bring such a sensitive topic in their brawls.

"Fuck you Paul!" her voice cracked at the end, she could feel the formation of tears in her eyes.

Paul shrugged, clearly waiting for Graciella to say something more. Was he really trying to pick a fight right now? In school? What the hell was he thinking?

Graciella had never cried in front of Paul before and she would most certainly not cry in front of him right now. Keeping her gaze strong, she sent her brother the nastiest glare she could muster. She walked past him, roughly knocking into his side. Graciella was trying her hardest to not fall apart, not yet. She wouldn't show him that his words hurt her, she wouldn't allow Paul to see her as weak. That was what he wanted.

Graciella ran into the nearest bathroom, locking herself in a stall. Leaning against the stall wall as she cried. She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging herself tightly as silent tears streamed down her face. She was doing everything in her power to hold back the sobs that were threatening to come out of her mouth.

Why did Paul hate her so much? What had she done? He was the one who left her behind, she should be the one doing the hating. These thoughts ran wild in her head. Causing her heart to break more and more.

Paul felt so many emotions at the stare his sister gave him; guilt, anger, heartache, and shock. Did he really just say that? Paul couldn't believe he did, the words flew out of his mouth on their own accord. He was aware that he had crossed the line, he didn't show it, but once the words flew out of his mouth, his own heart had cracked. Graciella was nowhere near comparison with his mother, look wise yes, they looked so alike. But Graciella and her mother were way different personality wise. His sister was amazing, while he's mother was trash.

Paul hadn't forgiven his mother for what she did and he never would.

Paul felt awful. He didn't understand how he could be such a dickhead to his little sister and so effortlessly at that, he guessed that these past few months his acting had improved greatly. He cared for his sister, truly, he did.

It pained Paul more than anything to have to treat her the way he did. It was cruel what he was doing to Graciella, and he hated himself for it. But he thought that it would be better to push her away and make her hate him than to drag her into the world of vampires and werewolves. It was just too dangerous for her.

He couldn't do that to Graciella. He wouldn't put her life at risk.

The warning bell rang, startling both the Lahote siblings back into reality.

Paul took one last longing glance at the bathroom his sister had run into, before storming down the hall and heading to his first class.

As Paul turned around, Graciella had emerged from the bathroom, quickly wiping her tears away with the back of her shaky hand. She straightened her shoulders and held her head high. She didn't want anyone, especially Miel, to see through her facade and see that she had been crying. That would only result in never ending questions, and she wasn't in the mood to talk about the hurtful interaction she had had with Paul.

Her teacher greeted her as she walked through the door, Graciella smiled at her brightly, greeting her back warmly. She spotted her best friends sitting in the back right corner, she approached them and sat down across from Joel.

"How'd it go?" Joel leaned against his desk.

"Did you make the team?" Michael asked eagerly.

"I made the team!" Graciella fake cheered, throwing her hands in the air. She visibly winced at the sound of her voice, there was no excitement in it, only sadness.

"Why don't you sound as excited as you're trying to come off as?" Michael raised an eyebrow at her. "Is everything okay?"

Graciella let out a weak laugh, "I am excited! And yes, everything is okay!" she raised her voice slightly, hoping to come off as happy. "It's just that, you know," her mind raced for an excuse, "Well I'm feeling a bit... nervous is all." she shrugged.

"Nervous?" this time Joel raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah. I'm happy I made the team, I really am! It's just that it means our first game is in like two weeks and I'm feeling wrecked about having to play in front of all those people." Yes! That was a great excuse! Graciella mentally high fived herself. It was believable and it was truthful, to some extent, she hadn't thought about it yet, but she knew that she would be a nervous wreck for her first game.

Mikey and Joel seemed to have bought it.

"Don't trip chocolate chip. You're a beast when it comes to soccer, you'll do fine!" The reassuring tone in Joel's voice was warm.

"Hell yeah! You're gonna fuck the shit out of the other team!" Michael put in, hip thrusting into the air to show emphasis on his choice of inappropriate words.

At Michael's comment Graciella's let out a laugh, "Michael, dude! Chill!"

"And we'll be there, to cheer for you and pull a Will Smith." Joel laughed.

"A Will Smith?" Graciella was suddenly very confused.

"Yeah, you know." Joel stood up, he began to clap his hands, "That's my baby!" he shouted, causing everyone in the room to stare at him like he was a mentally insane.

This was one of those moments in which Graciella buried her bright, red face into her hands, wishing for the ground to swallow her up. Michael was laughing his ass off, he suddenly stood up and joined Joel in clapping and shouting " _that's my baby_!" louder than necessary.

"Uh, do I even want to know what's going on?" Ms. Grey asked from the front of the room.

Graciella peeked at her through her fingers, shaking her head slowly. "They're idiots Ms. Grey. Just ignore them and everything they say or do. Trust me, it's better that way."

Ms. Grey let out a small chuckle, "Settle down now boys. Class will begin momentarily."

"Hey, do any of you have a pencil I can borrow?" Joel asked as he sat down.

Graciella rolled her eyes at him before chucking one of her extra pencils at him. It hit him in the chest as he wasn't expecting his friend to throw one at him. "And some paper too?" Joel asked, this time ready to catch anything thrown his way.

"What kind of dumbass doesn't bring a pencil or paper on the first day of school?" Michael shook his head at Joel, wearing one of those _you're a fucking dumbass_ looks.

Joel huffed, "A super sexy, gay dumbass that's who!"

 **If you don't understand the will smith reference then just google it. Its a gif and a very common meme.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight. I just own this plot and my own characters.**

The day was over, Graciella thought it had been pretty good considering it had been the first day back to hell. Graciella had two classes with Miel, Geology and English. Then she only had Michael for World History, and Joel for Algebra 2, she knew she was gonna struggle a lot in that class. Not only because she was terrible at math, seriously it was like a foreign language to her, but because having a distracting best friend in there would also be a challenge. She had lunch with both of them and she had Advance Spanish with Jennie and Rose, she got her chance to congratulate them there in person and they were thrilled about having her on the team as well.

It was a great day, but Graciella didn't feel so great.

Sure, she pretended to be okay and whenever someone asked her how she was she would put on the brightest, fakest smile she could muster and tell them she was fine. But in reality she was sad.

Paul's words never left her mind. Paul's voice lingered in her mind, the words he said to her kept on repeating themselves. All day there was a constant ache in her chest. Paul had crossed the line. A line that clearly had a thousand no trespassing signs all around it. She didn't know what to do to get his sick words out of her head.

Reaching her locker, she yanked it open. Stuffing her new subject books she had gotten that day inside. Thankfully her teachers were chill and none of them had given her homework on the first day. Closing her locker, she stared down at her feet.

Swirls of emotions were flowing inside her veins, it was all too much. She couldn't dictate exactly what she was feeling.

She felt everything and nothing.

Was it even acceptable for her to feel this way? Guilt consumed her. Was her family problems really an acceptable excuse to feel so depressed all the time? She felt guilty for even allowing herself to categorize herself as being depressed.

Depression was a serious topic to Graciella.

Long ago, before her best friends felt comfortable in their own skin, they were very different. Both, Michael and Joel were going through depression. They were sad, afraid, and confused. They hated themselves for not being _'normal'._

Graciella was there with them through it all. She was there when they began to realize they were different. Michael and Joel told Graciella they were gay at the same time. Graciella will never forget the looks on their faces. There was determination, tiredness, hopefulness, and sadness. They held each others hands, both of their knuckles were white from holding on so tight. When they told her, graciella had hugged them so tightly, swearing to never let them go. She cried with them, telling them she would always protect and love them, vowing to them that she would always be by their side, no matter what. She didn't care what people said about them. She loved them and nothing was ever going to change that. She was their shoulder to cry on and she tried her best to comfort them.

When they came out to their families, Graciella was there. Tightly holding their hands and staring at their families with a hard stare. Prepared for whatever was to come. She would fight and stand with them, and if their families were going to turn away from them, Graciella was prepared to do everything in her power to help them.

It was such a relieving and tear jerking moment when both their families hugged them and accepted them for who they were. Graciella thanked the heavens that her friends' families were so understanding and accepting.

But before their coming out, Graciella would never forget how sad her best friends had been. How they lost a lot of weight, due to not eating. How dark, purple bags grew under their eyes from not sleeping well. How they cried all night and how they lived in constant fear. How much they hated and blamed themselves for something they had no control over.

It was torture.

It was hell.

And although she lost her appetite and she had sleepless night as well. And even though the feeling of fear consumed her at times and she often cried herself to sleep, and she also had no control over her families problems, Graciella couldn't call herself depressed. Depression wasn't something to be taken lightly.

It destroyed people. It killed people.

And Graciella did not want to be destroyed. Or killed.

Not looking up from the ground, she shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She went to turn around, she had an after school meeting with the soccer team she had to get to. As she turned around, something hard pushed up against her and threw her on the floor. A soft pain erupted through her, the impact of her hitting the school floor was not hard, but it wasn't pleasing either.

Her breath got caught in her throat when she looked up, laying over her was a boy. Not even an inch away from her face, their lips would be touching if either one of them moved so much as a centimeter forward.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry!" the boy scrambled off Graciella, his face turning bright red. "My friends can be such assholes sometimes." he glanced around, clearly searching for his friends, but they were long gone.

"It's okay, I'm okay." Graciella said, a bit confused as to what had just happened. The boy quickly offered Graciella his hand, pulling her up to her feet.

The boy rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "I really am sorry." his gaze was on the floor. Graciella couldn't help but smile at the boy. He was good looking, his had was longish, reaching his chin, it looked so soft. Graciella wanted to run her fingers through it.

"It's okay, really." Graciella's heart skipped a beat when the boy met her gaze.

"That's the last time I tell those asswipes I think a girl is pretty." the boy mumbled.

Graciella froze, had she heard right? "You think I'm pretty?"

The boy's mouth fell open, he quickly recovered and offered her a shy smile. "Guess I thought that out loud huh?"

"I think you're pretty too," Heat rushed to Graciella's face. Did she really just say that?

The boy's face turned even redder, his lips displaying a sheepish smile. "Was that you thinking out loud too? Or?"

Graciella let out a laugh, the first genuine laugh she had let out all day. "Yeah, I guess I was." she pushed some of her dark hair behind her ear, smiling bashfully at the boy.

"I'm Embry," he extended his hand, greeting Graciella with a warm smile that made her knees weak.

"Graciella," she took his hand, her hand was so tiny compared to his. She felt warmth all over her body at his touch.

"That's a very unique name," Embry stated.

"I could say the same to you." 

Embry laughed, "Yeah, true. I like your name though, it's beautiful."

Graciella smiled, "Thanks Embry," she playfully added, "Yours is beautiful too."

Embry let out a chuckle at her response, his eyes never leaving hers. Graciella felt as if she could look into Embry's eyes forever. They were so deep, so inviting, so full of life. Looking into them helped her forget about Paul's words.

"I actually have you for Chemistry and I have gym the same hour as you." Embry informed.

Graciella thought about it, she hadn't taken notice of Embry during those two periods. "You do?"

"Yup," Embry said. Although Graciella hadn't taken notice of him, he had definitely taken notice of her. "Your friends put on an interesting show this morning." he laughed.

"Oh no," Graciella covered her face with her hand, "You saw that huh?"

Embry let out another laugh at Graciella's action. He found her adorable. "What was that about anyways?"

Graciella sighed, "They were showing me how they were gonna cheer for me at my first soccer ga-" Graciella cut herself off. Oh crap! The meeting! She was gonna be late.

She turned to Embry, "I'm really sorry Embry, but I gotta go. I'm late for the soccer meeting."

"You're on the team?" Embry asked, surprised, he found that incredibly attractive.

"Yeah, I am." she waved at him. "Bye Embry, I'll see you around!" and with that she took off, racing down the hall and towards the locker room.

Embry watched her go, feeling dazed. She was even more beautiful up close. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. As much as he wanted to keep talking to her, she had somewhere to be, besides, right now he had to go find Jacob and Quil.

He wanted to kill them for pushing him into Graciella, but at the same time he was grateful. Because without their help, there was no way he would have been able to go up and talk to her on his own. He was too shy to do that.

He waited until Graciella was completely out of sight, before turning around and heading towards Jake's house, where he knew Quil and Jacob would be, laughing their asses off at the little stunt they pulled.

 _ **Are the chapters too short? I feel like they are but then again they might be at a good length? Ah, I don't know, I'll try to make them a bit longer though :}**_

 _ **Hope you're all happy, healthy, and safe! ~**_


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